Beautiful
by Vera The Awesome
Summary: Rei and Nagisa take a midnight stroll down the beach together. ReixNagisa, one-shot.


**A/N: Wow, my very first non-Inazuma fic. I grew really fond of Free! as it progressed, so I decided to dedicate a fic to my favorite couple (for the record, my second fave is Haru/Rin). It's supposed to take place the night after the events of episode 6. I hope I managed to keep the inaccuracies to a minimum. Enjoy minna!**

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Nagisa woke up with a nagging pressure in his lower regions. Great, he had to pee. Judging by the lack of light outside his and Haru's tent, it was nowhere near morning yet, but he could hardly go back to sleep when his bladder kept pestering him.

The blond got up for a quick trip to the bathroom, careful not to wake his sleeping tentmate, and crawled out of the tent. Luckily, it was dry, unlike that horrible other night. A combination of rain and wind had slammed viciously against their tents and the sea was so rough it'd almost taken Rei and Makoto with it. Fortunately, he and Haru had managed to save them. Now, there was no trace of the storm. The sky was clear and filled with stars. A gentle breeze tickled his skin and the temperature was warm, but not humid. That storm must've been an exception for these islands.

Nagisa was about to make for the bathrooms when he noticed a figure sitting by the water. He immediately recognized him: Rei had pulled up his knees between his arms and under his chin, and was staring absentmindedly into the vast water. A smile instantly spread on Nagisa's face as he walked over.

"Rei-chan! What are you doing so late? Not up for another midnight swim, I hope?"

Rei looked over his shoulder, not exactly happy. "Of course not. I wouldn't make such a reckless error in calculations again. I'm sorry for making you and your teammates go to so much trouble for me…"

"Now, now, we told you it's alright, didn't we?" Nagisa plopped down next to his friend, cheerful as ever. "We all got out unharmed. Besides, what are you calling Haru-chan and Mako-chan 'my teammates' for? They're yours too, aren't they?"

"O-of course," Rei stammered hesitantly, "but sometimes it's hard to think they'd see me the same way… I'm so far behind."

"Mm-mm." Nagisa shook his head. "I don't think so, Rei-chan. Out of all four of us, you learned to swim the fastest. Well, after Haru-chan, that is. Just because you started late doesn't mean you're far behind. I know you're training hard to catch up, and I'm sure you'll make it in no time!"

Rei finally cracked a timid smile. "Thank you, Nagisa-kun."

"Nagisa, just Nagisa!" Nagisa reminded him, and Rei's smile brightened. He wondered how such a small boy could contain so much energy and liveliness.

The taller boy beheld the water again. "I couldn't sleep," he explained himself. "The issue's been weighing on my mind—and Makoto-kun's snoring didn't exactly help."

Nagisa laughed. "Yep, that's Mako-chan alright. Well, if you're bored, why don't you come with me to the bathroom?"

Rei looked at him. "That's where you're headed? I don't need to go, though."

"You can still come, so we can chat more!" Nagisa jumped up and tugged Rei up by the hand, not giving him a chance to protest. Resigned, Rei brushed the sand off his butt and followed his friend. "What is it you want to talk about?"

"Hmm…" Nagisa put a finger to his lips and looked up thoughtfully at the starry sky. The enchanting sight gave him an idea. "What's your idea of 'beautiful', Rei-chan?"

Rei started. "W-where did that come from, all of a sudden?"

"Well, you love beautiful things, right, Rei-chan?" Nagisa giggled. "So I'm curious what you think of as beautiful."

Silent for a moment, Rei closed his eyes as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Beautiful things… They need to have grace and a captivating charm, as well as a perfect form. There can be no flaws."

"Mm-hm, mm-hm…" Nagisa nodded with his hands behind his back. "Do you think I'm beautiful, Rei-chan?"

Rei reddened instantly. "W-what's with you, asking those questions out of nowhere?"

"I'm just interested in what Rei-chan thinks of me," Nagisa chimed. "Is that so strange?"

Rei looked away as his timid expression from before returned. "I suppose not… Well, your swimming is excellent, and I have no complaints about your form… Your appearance is what one would call 'attractive' as well… So I suppose you're a little beautiful."

"Eeeeh?" Nagisa pouted. "Only a little?"

"There is still room for improvement!" Rei huffed. "I didn't call any of these aspects 'perfect', now did I? You'll have to work harder if you seek to earn my approval, Nagisa-kun!"

Nagisa instantly glimmered again. "Alright. I'll do my best, then, for Rei-chan to like me!" Rei opened his mouth to say something, but Nagisa continued to his next question: "Do you think _you're_ beautiful, Rei-chan?"

Those words struck him speechless. Nagisa watched in confusion as Rei avoided eye contact by staring into the sand. "… of course I don't. There is nothing about me I can call perfect. My grades are good, but not the best. I lack the ability to properly communicate with people, like you do. I catch myself withdrawing behind a book instead. As for my swimming skills, well…" He smiled sadly. "I don't need to fill you in on that. There is not a single field in which I stand out. I'm… average. Not beautiful. That's why I like to look at other beautiful things instead. They calm me down and distract me from the imperfect person I am."

For the first time that night, Nagisa's smile was nowhere to be found. He stared at his friend with big eyes and a worried frown. Rei didn't think he was beautiful? He thought this lowly of himself? Nagisa couldn't understand, much less accept that. From his point of view, Rei was perfect in every way: funny, clever, and incredibly handsome. The fact that he was blind to his own appeal… It was just too sad.

When Rei didn't get a response, he carefully looked in Nagisa's direction, only to find tears were welling in his pink eyes. He flinched. "N-Nagisa—why are you crying?"

Nagisa sniffed in attempt to hold back his tears. "It's so sad, Rei-chan—you don't even realize how beautiful you are. You think you're flawed because you aren't perfect? To me, perfection doesn't need to equal beauty. You're beautiful as you are, Rei-chan, in spite of your fla—no, _because_ of your flaws!"

Rei's eyebrows went up. Because of his flaws…? He had never heard anything like that before. How could his flaws possibly make him beautiful?

"If you were perfect, Rei-chan, you wouldn't be who you are now," Nagisa continued. His tears were gone, and his smile started to come back. "You wouldn't have anything to strive for, including swimming. Without your flaws, Rei-chan, you wouldn't be here with us now. So I'm glad you're not perfect, because that's how I got to know you. That's how I got to know the beautiful person Rei-chan is!"

Rei froze at the spot. His cheeks heated up again, and all he could do was stare at his companion in silence. Half the time, he thought Nagisa hung around him just to mess with his head… but this boy genuinely liked him for who he was. How many other people could he say that about? He'd underestimated Nagisa. He was a gentle, open-minded boy, whose patience and enthusiastic attitude led to them being friends. Nagisa accepted him for who he was, even if he made mistakes. He didn't mind those mistakes. Nagisa was actually a very precious friend to have… and perhaps more beautiful than Rei initially thought.

"… t-thank you, Nagisa," he ultimately stuttered. Too shy to look him in the eye, he averted his eyes to his feet. "I appreciate that you think that way about me." Appreciation was a huge understatement.

Nagisa simply smiled at him. "I'm glad. Say, Rei-chan, I have one more question."

"What is it?" Rei asked without looking up. He needed another moment before he dared look Nagisa in the eye again.

"Do you think kissing is beautiful?"

Rei was silly to think he'd get a question that didn't take him by surprise. "… I cannot tell," he answered after a few seconds. "I've never experienced one before. However, every time a kiss was shared in my presence, the participants seemed very content. A kiss is a form of communication, after all, an intimate way of expressing one's affection. I fail to see any ugliness in a kiss… so yes, I would deem it beautiful."

"That's good," Nagisa answered with a calmness that was unlike him. Having stood beside his friend all this time, he slipped in front of him and looked into his eyes with a smile. "Would you mind if I kissed you?"

"Wha—" Rei took a step back out of shock. "K-kiss me? Why would you want to kiss me?"

"Like I said, I think you're very, very beautiful, Rei-chan," Nagisa beamed. "I've never kissed anyone either, but I do want to kiss you. I just couldn't do it without hearing your opinion." He winked. "I need to earn your approval first, after all."

"I-is that so…" Rei stammered, completely baffled. What a mysterious boy Nagisa was. Rei thought kisses were meant for romantic partners, yet Nagisa offered to take his first kiss – and Rei would be taking his. He needed no more convincing that Nagisa thought highly of him, more highly than he did himself. Still, he saw no reason to say no. There was something about Nagisa that made him want to be close to him; perhaps the same thing that always had Nagisa hopping around him like a bunny. Rei saw no downsides to sharing a kiss with him. None at all.

"… fine," he agreed, and he puckered his lips, waiting for Nagisa to close the distance. And so he did, shutting his eyes as he kissed him ever so gently. Rei flinched at the touch; not because of the kiss itself, but because his body behaved strangely as soon as he felt Nagisa's lips on his. His face was now entirely red and his heart sped up, though not in a painful way. This was a completely new phenomenon. Was it part of the kissing ritual? Did everyone who engaged in it feel like this?

Rei was still pondering these things when Nagisa pulled back and beamed a bright smile. He saw that the blond's cheeks had a touch of pink as well, but he seemed relatively calm – by Nagisa standards, anyway.

"That felt nice," Nagisa commented happily. "I'd love to kiss you again."

"J-just a moment," Rei stammered. This was going a little fast for him. "You should go to the bathroom first. A full bladder can cause damage to your body. You—you can have another kiss on our way back, alright?"

"Okay!" Nagisa was so happy he threw his hands in the air. "Let's hurry then, go go go!" Once again, he took Rei by the hand and dragged him to the bathroom stalls. After a few weak protests, Rei adjusted his pace to match Nagisa's, although he was taken aback by his friend's haste. Did he want another kiss that badly? Well, thinking about it, Rei couldn't blame him that much. It had felt strange and confusing, but not unpleasant. No, anything but unpleasant… Quite enjoyable, rather. Rei himself wouldn't mind if he and Nagisa shared a second kiss… or even a third. Perhaps they should take it slow on their way back to the tents, just in case.


End file.
